Woke up this morning with a weird almost headache sensation, however, it was more akin to a buzzing feeling in my head. I have experienced this before, it comes after a couple of days of fasting. The night of sleep is fitful at best and in the morning, you have this sort of headache sensation without any acute pain. I have heard others describe it, and I think I know what it is. There is a sort of mental confusion or fog that persists, but then suddenly there is this mental acuity that kicks in. I believe it comes from the body rushing the last remaining glucose to the brain and then starting to really kick into to fat burning mode. Once that starts to happen, this new thundering sources of energy is available and the body looks to maintain blood sugar levels at an acceptable and functional state.
So the beginning of the 3rd day, you feel a little tired, perhaps slightly stretched and you can feel the effects of depletion. This is a process, and it is vitally important to stay hydrated, get rest in between period of activity. Of course no human body is the same, all act differently. Some people have different types of metabolism, but they all work on the same basic principles. Now food is still tempting. At the end of the day yesterday, my wife cooked an awesome meal. I had a can of sparkling water and considering the flaky crust of a side of croissants decided to maintain my commitment of fasting for at least 72 hours. This morning when I walked into the kitchen, I actually considered that a bowl of fresh spinach would sound really yummy for breakfast. That is right, this is one benefit of fasting. You will notice that sugar packed breakfast foods no longer sound good. Your body will start to send signals to your brain. In this case, my iron levels have probably dropped slightly. I also need electrolytes, such as magnesium and potassium. Funny how your instinctive mind knows exactly what food has the right ingredients in it. Spinach has all three of those in good quantity. However, I also learned from previous fasting experiences that raw spinach is not good for me alone. It has a small toxin on the leaves that is produced naturally. If I did eat that raw bowl of spinach on an empty stomach, then I would find that the toxin would create an adverse effect on me. I learned the hard way, that spinach is the last thing I should eat when recovering from a fast!
So, I am pursuing Day 3 today. Going to be tough, we have a family outing planned for later in the day. Food will be a highlight of the affair, so that will be tough! However, maybe not. Sometime between Day 2 and Day 3, the body starts to engage in full blown ketosis and once that happens, the cravings for food almost completely drop away for a period of time. The problems now become primarily social or learned behaviors. When I sit to watch a show with the kids, I have to eat a chocolate treat. That is a bad learned behavior. Or when I drive a long distance, I feel like I have to be eating something along the way. This is not hunger, or real nutritional need. This is just learned behavior. This is one of the things that fasting really helps you with. You clearly see those things for what they are. You can break the cycle of addiction. I have been told that replacement is the best strategy. Instead of a pack of donuts on that long drive, replace it with an orange. The orange is difficult to peel and takes some tactile manipulation, which is a good thing. That is one of reasons why you eat food unnecessarily, it is the tactile response that you get. There are other reasons, which I will talk about soon enough.
Yesterday was Day 2 and I decided to dive into Self Authoring, or what I call Future Visioning. Dr. Jordan Peterson created this self help authoring program at selfauthoring.com. You can buy a subscription, does not cost that much. I bought one for my son and I. There is a two for one special right now, and I thought it would be good to go through this with him. The concept of free form writing about who you want to be, what you want to become, what you would like to evolve into is valuable at any age. This tool asks simple questions, has you free form write down your thoughts. It is simple really, but a good exercise nonetheless. I have learned that really no progress will ever be made without a clear vision of the future.
Guy Reams (815)
